Gannon’s demand for change of tack
COUNTY boss Jim Gannon called for a “change of mentality” amongst his players after The Hatters slipped to a 3-1 home defeat to Blyth Spartans on Saturday.
Two stoppage time goals saw Alun Armstrong’s side condemn County to a first home defeat in almost a year, and Gannon hit out at his players, some of whom he claimed “are not physically or mentally strong enough.”
Gannon also admitted that a loss on home soil “had been coming after recent performances”, with The Hatters most recently throwing away a three-goal lead in the FA Cup against neighbours FC United of Manchester at Edgeley Park prior to Saturday’s defeat.
“I think it’s been coming if you look at some of the performances in recent weeks. We started really well on Saturday and could have been two or three goals up, but as soon as we got the goal we were very poor,” he said.
“There was some really poor defending - slashed clearances, misplaced headers - and on top of that, we’ve had certain players just drift through the game and fail to really impose themselves or their skills on the opposition. It’s a recipe for a defeat like we’ve seen.”
Gannon also called for a discussion with the Board of Directors about what the former Motherwell chief described as players “drifting through games” and failing to heed instructions – a meeting which is believed to have taken place on Monday evening between Gannon and a number of directors at Edgeley Park.
Supporters may begin to see the results of Gannon’s proposed discussion come to fruition over the coming weeks, with at least one member of the playing squad at Edgeley Park reported to have been told to find a new club.
With changes seemingly in the offing amongst Gannon’s squad, the Hatters boss did point to one of his senior players as a shining light both in the dressing room and on the pitch.
“We erode our own energy and our own purpose - we start positively, but seem to allow games to break down and become scrappy. That wouldn’t be as much of an issue if I had eleven Gary Stop-forths - Gary is one who’s trying to constantly put pressure on the back four and allow our skilful players to take over, but unfortunately the more skilful players are drifting through games at the moment.”
“I need to have a chat with the Board this week as we really need to look at changing the mentality of this group of players - to be honest I think I’m wasting my time with certain players, because I’m repeatedly giving the same instructions and they do just seem to revert back to making the same mistakes. I believe some of this group don’t hear instructions, they just hear noise, and it’s something we need to correct,” an exasperated Gannon explained.
The pressure from some quarters was intensified on both Gannon and the playing squad after Saturday’s demoralising loss, with some detractors amongst the Hatters support pointing to Gannon’s touchline instructions “falling on deaf ears” – an issue which was also raised by Gannon himself.
The County boss admitted he has been left feeling ‘foolish’ for coaching his players from the dugout on several occasions and seeing “very little in return” – and the 49-yearold claimed that players will be out of the side if they continually fail to follow the Hatters manager’s instructions.
“I do look at the players and wonder sometimes whether it’s me or them. I have to take a certain amount of responsibility as a manager, and I was quite calm after the game - I asked the lads if I’m playing the best players, if I’m playing a shape which suits them and if they had any feedback for me.”
“Certainly Gary Stopforth would like to be more involved as a central midfielder and wouldn’t prefer to play as a number ten, but understands why I’m playing him there but beyond that I heard very little back,” Gannon said.
County are set to travel to lowly Nuneaton Town this weekend in the National League North, where Gannon’s side will attempt to put right their poor away record of just one win in eight away from Edgeley Park this season.
And a clearly irked Gannon admitted that changes were required prior to the away trip this Saturday, with certain ‘mentally weak’ members of the squad in danger of losing their place in the side.
Defender Michael Clarke and captain Harry Winter should be in contention as they return to fitness following recent injuries, and Gannon explained that a shake-up of personnel may be his next step in attempting to put right County’s recent struggles.
“I’m disappointed in myself because I was up out of the dugout time after time on Saturday to give instructions which fell on deaf ears with players making the same errors and giving the ball away for fun.”
“The definition of a fool is someone who does the same thing over and over again expecting different results, and if I’m repeating myself with no real results on the pitch then we need to rectify that.
“That can come from either simplifying things for certain players, or just taking them out of the side.
“We’ve got players who aren’t physically or mentally strong enough, and so there’s a lot for us to work on before Nuneaton.”